


The Last Stroke of Midnight

by Baelfyre_1053



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cheesy, Cinderella - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Fun school times, Heavy Cliche, I apologize for the cheese, I have no idea where this is going yet, No Angst Yet, Please roll with me, Reveal?, School Play, maximum fluff, maybe some bad language?, pre-reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 13:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8490970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baelfyre_1053/pseuds/Baelfyre_1053
Summary: Adrien was a prince, or at least, that's what his classmates believed. And honestly, who wouldn't? What with his gentlemanly behaviour, excellent manners, dashing good looks, and exquisite charm, anyone could mistaken him for the princely-type. So, naturally, when Mme. Bustier wrote his name down on the board next to 'Prince Charming', he wasn't all that surprised.He couldn't say the same for what came next.





	1. If the Shoe Fits...

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my first shot at a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic! Well I guess it’s my first crack at a fanfic in general. This is probably one of my favourite shows/fandoms of all time, and I really wanted to participate in the best way I can… And since I can’t draw I thought, ‘why not give it a shot?’ 
> 
> (P.S. I’m a total cliche/cheese lover, please forgive me)
> 
> Please tell me what you think! I hope you guys like it!

Adrien was a prince, or at least, that's what the majority of his classmates believed. And honestly, who wouldn't? What with his gentlemanly behaviour, excellent manners, dashing good looks, and exquisite charm, anyone could mistaken him for the princely-type, _especially_ his classmates. So, naturally, when Mme. Bustier wrote his name down on the board next to 'Prince Charming', he wasn't all that surprised. Adrien sighed internally, staring down the board ahead of him with distaste; he knew this was coming- for a whole week he knew -ever since Mme. Bustier made the announcement on Monday.

_**Monday** _

"This year, your final literature project will be a group effort." Mme. Bustier spoke with more enthusiasm than usual, which was saying something since she was an engaging teacher to begin with. She smiled brightly as she turned to the board and began to write, leaving Adrien to lean forward in his seat, if only out of curiosity for what she'd meant by 'a group effort', "And by that I mean the entire class will have to work together to complete it." She turned from the board then, revealing the underlined words Fairy Tales in chalky cursive.

Adrien assumed the whole class was just as perplexed as he was, but Mme. Bustier didn't give them much time to dwell, "For our final project, the class will choose a fairy tale, write a script, and perform it as a play for the entire school!" not a second later, a muddled chorus of groans and cheers could be heard from several students in the room, Adrien being one of the few who stayed quiet. But even though he was silent, he could feel a bubbling sensation of giddy excitement at the idea. He'd only ever seen plays, never been part of one, and the idea was suddenly very appealing to him, though he'd never entertained it before. It took an immense amount of self-control for Adrien to keep himself from jumping in his seat, Mme Bustier continued,

"There will be plenty of roles other than acting of course. You'll have to appoint a director and stage manager as well as the writers, cast, and crew, so don't worry, you don't have to be onstage. Everything will be up for vote. Today we'll start with what story you'll be performing and move on from there. Who has a suggestion?" 

Almost everyone's hand shot up.

* * * *

By the end of the period, the class had decided on Cinderella _._ Or more appropriately, Chloe decided on Cinderella and basically threw a tantrum before everyone eventually agreed, much to Alya's dismay,

" _Cinderella_?" Adrien watched as Alya gaped, not so speechless, "But it's so... Vanilla! Bland! Seriously, why not **anything** else?" Chloe huffed, throwing her ponytail behind her shoulder,

"Because I would look absolutely _fabulous_ in glass slippers, obviously!" she spoke as though it were common knowledge. Alya was seething after the decision was made, and still was as they began packing up to head home after class, 

"Cinderella... I can't believe it, I won't believe it."

"It's okay Alya, we'll make it work." Marinette offered with a soothing tone. Adrien turned in his seat to join the conversation, trying his best to sound comforting,

"Marinette's right, we can figure something out, don't worry about it." he said with a reassuring smile. He shot the same look at Marinette, but she shied away and turned back to Alya, leaving him a little puzzled. Soon however, his attention returned to the depressed teen hunched over her desk,

"I doubt it, the story is blah and the characters are mediocre at best. I mean come on, perfect girl with no faults whatsoever meets the perfect, boring, prince, they get married and live happily ever after. The End. The cast pretty much decides itself."

"How so?" Adrien asked, bag in hand as he stood from his seat. Alya scoffed,

"I thought you of all people could figure that out." 

"What do y-"

"Oh Prince Charmiiiing!" Adrien spun on his heel toward the voice and was nearly knocked of his feet when Chloe jumped him. She squeezed his neck so hard he thought he might pass out, but after a couple seconds he was released from her cage-like grasp as Chloe pulled away and looked up at him with fluttering eyelashes. Adrien smiled politely despite his need for personal space, "Oh isn't this perfect Adrikins! I mean really, the gorgeous princess and the dashing prince who falls for her? It's basically real life!" behind him, Adrien could hear Nino and Alya making audible gagging noises. Slowly it began to dawn on him, Alya's insinuation becoming clear as Chloe kissed his cheek and ran off, saying something about designer glass shoes.

But by then it was all too late.

_**Present** _

Despite knowing that all this time, he still felt the heavy weight of disappointment on his shoulders when he saw his name next to the role. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't the fact that Chloe was pretty much guaranteed to be his love interest that bothered Adrien (well it was part of it). What really bothered him was the role itself. Prince Charming, it made him laugh, what better character for him to play than the one he did every day? It was so typical, so utterly predictable that he should have seen it from the start. It's not that he wouldn't do it, but he wanted to be someone different. Adrien spent every day being Prince Charming, a person everyone adored, but no one really knew. A simple character, with no real complications, no faults, no personality. He wanted to be more than Prince Charming, Adrien wanted to be a character who mattered, who made a difference, who was compelling and real. The only time he ever felt like that was when he was soaring pass buildings, saving Paris, and standing next to a certain spotted companion. But he wanted others to see that side of him, and know it was him. The fact that he couldn't even do that on a stage, made him want to curl in on himself.

Up until that moment, Marinette had been extremely happy. She was proud that Alya had been voted lead writer for the script, giving her friend a high five the second it was written down, and she was so happy for Nino when he was named the play's director that she whispered congratulations to him over the desk. When the time came for the cast, Mme. Bustier began with the role of Prince Charming, and Marinette knew immediately who was going to get the role. Of course it was Adrien, it only made sense, Marinette didn't know anyone in the whole class who could fit it better. Adrien was kind, caring, gentle, selfless, the very picture of princely qualities.

She wasn't surprised when he got the part, what surprised her was seeing him visibly hunch over in his chair at the news. She gave him a sympathetic look, clearly he was distressed. She didn't know exactly why he was, but she felt like it had to be more than just Chloe. Marinette looked to her desk with a furrowed brow, she wished to do something, anything to help, but her train of thought was cut off quite suddenly by a high pitched shriek. Her head whipped around at the sound,

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Chloe practically screeched, standing from her seat, "Absolutely ludicrous!! I DEMAND a recount of the votes!" Marinette, looked between Chloe and her 'offender', Mme. Bustier, with confusion. What could've turned her so quickly? Mme. Bustier gave Chloe a stern look, her tone was firm, 

"There isn't anything wrong with the votes Mlle. Bourgeois, I assure you. Now please take a seat."

"But it's _supposed_ to be me!"

"Take a seat Chloe." Mme. Bustier spoke with a firm tone, and with a frustrated grunt and stomp of her foot, Chloe did just what she said. 

She then sent a seething glare in Marinette's direction, leaving her quite taken aback. What did she do? Marinette turned away from Chloe feeling perplexed, when Alya suddenly elbowed her side,

"Way to go girl! You're gonna rock the part!" She said shooting her two thumbs up and doing very little to fix Marinette's confusion, 

"What?" She said earning a 'you're joking right?' expression from her friend, before she pointed toward the blackboard. Marinette turned her gaze to the rows of names on the board, raking her eyes once over the cast list before coming to a dead stop over the row just beneath Adrien's name.

**Cinderella: Marinette Dupain-Cheng**


	2. Genuine

“W-w-w…” Marinette stuttered incoherently, staring at the board in disbelief. No matter how long she stared at her name it seemed impossible. There was no way, _no way_ this was real, it had to be a dream. Alya’s rough poke to her side, however, told her otherwise,

“Uh, Marinette? You with me?” Marinette felt herself roughly return to reality. She nodded pathetically to Alya, offering her friend no reassurance in her state. Turning back to the board with the same amount of confidence, Marinette slowly raised a shaky hand,

“M-Mme. Bustier? I’m not sure that’s right.” her teacher paused from the cast list and turned,

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Well… It’s just…” Marinette spoke uneasily, with the attention of the whole class on her, “It’s just, aren’t I also in the costume crew? I didn’t actually think I’d be in the cast at all.” At this, Mme. Bustier smiled, but it wasn’t a normal smile. It was the same smile a person would wear when a culprit was finally brought to justice, like a point had been proven. Her tone was a little too pleasant,

“I see. Well Marinette, if you hadn’t been late to class yesterday you would’ve known that anyone who only had a hand in the pre-show prep would also be on the voting roster.”

Marinette paled, remembering the Akuma incident the day before. The Cat Lady and her army of felines had been terrorizing the city with hairballs the size of mini-vans, and had Chat doubling over in hysterics. Her eyes still hurt from all the all the puns she had to roll them at. Of course, this attack had prevented her from making it to school on time. Unfortunately, she knew taking the morning off as one of Paris’ superheroes wasn’t an excuse she could use to get out of this problem,

“Oh!” she laughed nervously as she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. Around her she could hear a few of her classmates snickering, “M-my mistake! I’ll do my best…”

“Perfect!” Mme. Bustier smiled once more as she finished up the last name in the cast. She then turned away from the board, revealing the list for everyone to see, “There, now you all know your roles for the assignment. You’ll have at least two classes a week dedicated to this project, but I expect you to work together outside of school as well. Don’t forget, participation and team work will be graded too!” While Mme. Bustier continued, Marinette found herself distracted. In fact she wasn’t listening at all.

 _‘I’m Cinderella.’_ She thought to herself, halfway between panic and bliss, _‘I’m Cinderella, and **Adrien** is the Prince!’ _ A sudden quake of nervous jitters rushed over her body, and Marinette found herself slightly giddy. That meant that she and Adrien… that they had to be in love! Well, _act_ like they were in love, but it was the same basic principle. Even when Mme. Bustier ended class and everyone was leaving, all Marinette could do was stare hazily across the room while she packed her bag. She could just picture it! A grand castle, a beautiful ball; a night full of colours, and dancing, and gorgeous dresses. And Adrien, Adrien in his striking lapels and suit coat, whooshing her around the dance floor. Then she’d run from him as midnight neared, only to have him come for her. The shoe would fit, they’d share a kiss, and live happily ever aft—

Then it dawned on her; one second, Marinette was looking blissfully into the distance, the next her face was beat red with shock. A kiss, she and Adrien would have to _kiss_! But what if she did it wrong? What if her breath stank? What if she was so utterly bad at it that Adrien would be repulsed by the mere sight of her afterwards? She really hadn’t thought this through, there had to be a way to switch roles with someone. Maybe Rose would do it. She’d originally voted for her to be Cinderella anyway and she would be perfect! Rose would love the part. Congratulating herself for the incredible idea, Marinette turned to approach her fair-haired classmate when she found herself running directly into another. With a squeak of surprise, she tripped and fell forward into his arms,

“Oh! Sorry Marinette!” Adrien said when he caught her flawlessly, as usual. Marinette just gaped at him, completely forgetting what she’d been doing as she tried to form a sentence.

“Ah! Oh w-wait I mean… I-it was definitely my fault!” She straightened up and out of his hold, trying to hide her ever flushing face from the boy beside her. He looked at her for a moment, before releasing a soft smile that would’ve sent her into yet another stutter rant had he not spoken first,

“How about we call it even?” Marinette nodded slightly, figuring it was better not to speak if she could help it. Adrien was even more dazzling than usual today, another reason why she thought he’d be the perfect prince for the play. Luckily, he wasn’t waiting for a response, “I just wanted to say congrats on the lead, I guess this means we’ll get to practice together. It’ll be fun.” Marinette felt like she was barely holding herself together at this point. _Adrien wants to practice with me!_ She thought to herself happily. _I must be dreaming, did he just compliment me? Shouldn’t I be congratulating him? He’s going to be a wonderful…_ With that, the image of Adrien slouching in his seat after hearing his role flashed through her mind. Suddenly, Marinette was overcome with confusion and concern—and maybe a little guilt. Why had Adrien seemed so upset about it? And why was he suddenly pretending everything was okay? Now that she thought of it, there was a touch of sadness in his smile, making her feelings grow stronger, “I know you’ll be a great Cinderella Marinette.” He said with a cock of his head a bright grin that made her worry.

What could she do? She wasn’t going to ask him in the middle of the classroom, but she couldn’t stand seeing him try so hard to look okay. She wanted to help. In any way that she could,

“T-thanks Adrien.” Marinette spoke gently, wishing she could cease her stuttering. He laughed lightly then, and was about to turn away when she surged forward, “You know… I think you’re going to be an amazing prince…” Hearing her say this stopped Adrien dead in his tracks. Slowly he turned back to her and watched as she spoke, “I mean it. A really, really good one.” Marinette knew he was watching her, she knew that her crush was listening intently to every word she said. Usually, this would make her a babbling, incoherent mess, but something about the situation just told her it wasn’t the time for that. It told her that this was important. Her eyes trailed to the floor,

“And honestly, I can’t think of a better person to play the part… Really I don’t know anyone with more heart and kindness than you. You had my vote for sure.” Finding herself with no more words, Marinette went silent, the two of them standing together in the quiet of the now empty classroom. The longer the silence went on, the more panicked she began to feel. Had she said too much? Did she upset him? Oh no what if he didn’t want someone to notice he was upset? Had he figured her out? Marinette began fiddling with her fingers, pushing herself to look up at Adrien despite how her nerves willed her not to. There was only one way to know what he was feeling really, she just had to see his face. Heart beating a little faster than normal, Marinette tilted her chin up to find herself looking directly into Adrien’s bright emerald eyes. Eyes that complimented his slightly shocked expression.

Well that didn’t help. Now she really had no idea what he was feeling. She paled a bit, faltering in her new found confidence and certainty of the situation. _I probably went too far, maybe I should apologize._ But as she scrambled to find the words, Marinette was cut off by the look of sheer joy that spread across Adrien’s face. There was something about the smile that was different, like she’d never seen it but it was somehow so familiar. Regardless, it was unlike any picture perfect smile she’d ever seen Adrien wear, and it was so much better. Her heart started racing. Adrien let out a small laugh,

“Thank you Marinette, I don’t think you know how much I needed that.” Smiling, he grabbed his bag from the chair beside him, and turned towards her once more, “I’m just going to have to try my best. We can work hard together.” With that he sent her an appreciative wave and made his way for the door, leaving Marinette alone in the silence.

What just happened? Marinette found herself sinking into her chair as she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Adrien just thanked her, so she’d helped, right? He seemed to be feeling a little better. Had her compliment really helped that much? Suddenly, she felt her heart pick up as she realized just what she said to him. Did he know she liked him now? No that was ridiculous, there’s no way he could’ve—

“Oh and Marinette?”

“Ah!” Barely catching herself from falling out of the chair, Marinette hooked herself dangerously on the edge of the desk and turned to the boy in the doorway of the room; hoping she didn’t make a fool of herself _again_. Adrien, however, seemed unfazed by her startled appearance. Without any reserve whatsoever, he looked her straight in the eye,

“I just wanted you to know, you really will be a great Cinderella.” He said so with such a light tone and innocence that she couldn’t have possibly predicted what was coming next,

“You had my vote too.”

And then he, model and longtime crush Adrien Agreste, did the unthinkable.

He _winked_.

The second he was out of sight, Marinette lost her balance and fell out of her seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading my fic! I've decided to give it a go after all so I hope you enjoy!


	3. Boundaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little DJWifi for ya! And some Alya schemes. Enjoy the fluff!

“Ugh…” Alya groaned as Mme. Bustier waved her hand in dismissal. Rubbing her temple, she grabbed her bag off her chair and started to pack up her things. She’d gotten head writer, that’s what she wanted, but still it was going to be a huge task making Cinderella a little more three-dimensional, “Oh well, I guess I ‘ll have to research tonight. It’ll probably take a while, too.” Alya spoke aloud, completely oblivious that the girl beside her wasn’t listening; lost in a day dream, “I’ll have to figure out something new, this has to be better than the crap Disney kept pumping out a few decades ago. I know! How about you come over tonight Marinette? You can help me decide what t—” When she turned to her friend, Alya found Marinette staring off into the distance, looking over the list on the chalkboard in a dreamy haze, “Marinette?” She said once more for confirmation, even going so far as to wave her hand in front of the lost girl’s face. When she received no response, Alya smiled devilishly.

Of course this whole scenario would have Marinette in a fit, Alya had expected this. Sometimes her friend could be so predictable it was painful; so predictable in fact, that Alya already knew the stages of what was to come. First, there was the shock, which had already happened when Mme. Bustier first announced the role. Then Marinette would deny it, which she had done by trying to use that lame excuse to get out of the part. The girl would then start to see the benefit of it all, being close to Adrien, and she’d fantasize everything. Everything right up until the shock of realizing they would _actually_ have to… Alya quickly noted that something had to be done to keep Marinette from backing out before it was too late. She wasn’t going to let her friend’s fear ruin yet another chance at her happiness. But what could she do? Sure Marinette always listened to her but she was a wild card when came to anything Adrien, there were times when no one would ever be able to convince to go for it. No one! Not one single,

“Adrien, dude, are you feeling okay?” Hearing his name suddenly snapped Alya back to the present, her eyes darting to the blonde-haired boy and his companion,

“Yeah I’m fine, just had a bit of a dizzy spell that’s all.” He laughed, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as he stretched from his sitting position. All the while, Alya was watching, and it gave her a great idea.

Sure, Marinette might not listen to her, but if _Adrien_ were to tell her she would do a great job… then maybe… Alya decided right then and there, and the second she did there was no way it wasn’t going to be done. Stealthily, so as not to disturb her dreaming friend, the girl on a mission snuck her way out of their seats and down to the row in front of them. The two boys were still conversing, but Alya had no problems interrupting and finding her way in, she had a purpose after all,

“Hey guys, congrats on the roles.” She said with ease as she swooped up beside Nino. The two of them looked her way and smiled in thanks,

“Yeah you too Alya, this show would blow if you weren’t writing the script.” Nino’s tone was full of appreciation, leading Alya to bask in a brief moment of delight before turning back to the subject at hand,

“I agree with Nino, I feel a little safer knowing the story is in your hands.” Adrien said and smiled his model smile that made every other girls’ knees weak. This poor boy didn’t even know the damage he was inflicting on himself. It almost made her laugh,

“Thanks, I’m loving the praise. But don’t you feel more relieved about your co-star?” Adrien shot her a look of confusion, she was going to have to spell it out for him, “You know? Cinderella?” He looked a little more there, but not quite, “Marinette? A.K.A. Not Chloé?” Suddenly it dawned on him and his face flushed just a little bit, before he regained composure,

“Oh! I… I mean there’s nothing wrong with Chloé,” _Yes there is_. Alya thought to herself, “But yeah, I guess you could say I’m pretty happy that Marinette got the part. She was the one I voted for after all.” This was too good to be true. It was just all too perfect. She barely had to do anything at all, just a few words to nudge him in the right direction,

“Yeah I think she’s perfect for it too. At least some of us feel that way.” Adrien stopped gleaming,

“What do you mean?”

“Oh,” Alya said with as much dismay as she could possibly muster without throwing off her performance, “It’s just, Marinette doesn’t really think she can do it. I keep telling her otherwise, but I’m afraid she might try to talk Mme. Bustier into getting out of it.”

“What?” Adrien sounded _extremely_ disappointed, “But she can’t do that, she’d be so amazing at it.”

“I know. It’s terrible.” Alya almost touched her hand to her forehead, but refrained from doing so, “I don’t think there’s anything else I can say either. She already won’t listen to me.” They stood in silence for a moment then, as both of them pondered the next move—in different ways she supposed. Adrien furrowed his brow, resting his hand on his chin and elbow on his arm as he debated,

“Well, what if I talked to her?” he said then with the utmost sincerity. Alya had to keep herself from throwing a fist in the air, “I mean if more people let her know what they thought then maybe she’d realize we’re telling the truth.” Victory tasted so sweet, but she still had to be sure,

“That’s a great idea Adrien! That might work. Marinette always feels a little more confident when she realizes that people are supporting her.” Alya looked up at her friend from the corner of her eye. She was still dreaming, but not for long. It had to be quick, “Now that I think of it, Marinette was actually planning on talking to Mme. Bustier once everyone left. This might be our only chance.” Hearing this, Adrien’s look changed to a more serious, determined expression. He was committed, that was for sure, and Alya knew that this was the right move to make. This would definitely work,

“You’re right, I should talk to her. Sorry Nino, I guess we won’t be walking together.”

“That’s fine bro, do what you gotta do. You’re not the only one banking on Marinette.” He shot his friend an encouraging thumbs up that put on the finishing touches to the plan. Alya would have to thank Nino later. Adrien beamed,

“Alright, wish me luck!” He said a little too excitedly, and turned to meet Marinette. Alya didn’t wait long at all. Immediately she turned to her accomplice—unbeknownst to him or not,

“Well now that I have you all to myself, Monsieur Lahiffe, would you kindly walk me home?” Nino blinked once before smiling softly. Bag on his shoulder, he held out an arm to the lady beside him and she took it gratefully, taking up his side. The two of them walked out of the classroom together, the whole while Alya patting herself on the back for her flawless plan. _I’m such a good friend_. She thought with an internal snort, when the boy beside her began to chuckle,

“You know, you’re an incorrigible schemer.” He spoke with a knowing gaze. Alya looked up at him with a puzzled expression, feigning total innocence,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said matter-of-factly, “And where did you even learn a word that big?”

“I’m smarter than you think.”

“Yeah, or you read it in Scott Pilgrim and looked it up.” Nino gasped a little too dramatically,

“She’s a witch!” His tone was accusatory as he stared upon her in horror. In response Alya pinched his side and laughed,

“No, I’m just a journalist with way better investigative skills. Besides, I was with you when you said you were going to-” Alya, however, wasn’t able to finish her sentence. In one swift motion, Nino, had pulled her out of the hallway and into the empty locker room, simultaneously hugging her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his cheek on the top of her head; and she could feel the heat rising to her face. They didn’t say anything for a moment, they just stood there, and when she wrapped her arms around him he laughed into her hair,

“You know…” Nino started as he pulled away to look at her, “You’re a really, _really_ good friend. I’m sure Marinette is grateful to have you.” He leaned down then, their noses coming awfully close to touching as his gaze grew more intense. Alya watched him closely, waiting for the joke, the trick, the psych out, but it didn’t come. Instead, he moved in closer until their lips just barely met. And he spoke,

“I know I am.”

Alya’s heart was racing as he looked her in the eye, a heat slowly boiling in the pit of her stomach and rising up through her. This was new, it pushed the boundaries of their ever teetering relationship in a way that made her heart burst. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it was pushing, urging her forward, to test the boundaries and try. And as he drew himself closer she couldn’t find it in her to turn him away. She supposed that this was want, or maybe even something more. Maybe she wanted something more. He was so close to her, _so close_ she could feel his intensity, she could feel his gravity pulling her in.

That’s why she was so disappointed when the door opened on the other side of the room.

The two of them jumped away from each other, face’s red and flustered, as Kim closed the door to the bathroom behind him. Thankfully his back was to them, and when he turned around they were already making their way to their lockers,

“Oh, hey guys. See you tomorrow.” He said pulling his jacket over his shoulders as he walked out the door. The two of them muttered a goodbye as the door shut once more, and let out a sigh of mixed relief and disappointment.

“Yup.” Nino said, eyes trailed on his locker, “Moment ruined.”

“I’m not going to deny it.” Alya sighed again, and looked up his way. In the same moment he did too, and when their eyes were locked, she smiled lightly,

“I guess we’ll just have to wait for the next one.”


	4. The Wounded Knight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you're having fun reading this! I've been working lately to actually come up with a legit plot line so it might start to make sense soon. :3  
> Also, you guys can find me on Tumblr here: http://baelfyre1053.tumblr.com/  
> I don't post too much, but I'll try to post updates for The Last Stroke of Midnight over there.  
> Anyways, here's chapter 4! A lot more Adrien/Chat in this one (And a dash of Ladynoir) Enjoy!

“What are you so happy about all of a sudden?” Plagg sighed, hanging lazily off his nook in the trophy shelf as the blonde to his right beamed brightly. Despite his remark, Adrien smiled as he continued to type away at his computer. He didn’t offer a response. Plagg shook his head and let himself slide out of the case with his usual grace, “No seriously, what’s gotten into you? This morning you were all…” Adrien found himself interrupted suddenly as the Kwami floated in front of his face, eyes wide and sad and ears flat to his head, “Droopy.” Instead of getting frustrated with him, Adrien just lightly pushed Plagg out of the way of his computer, before turning his attention back to the monitors. No amount of pestering from his companion would spoil his current burst of inspiration,

“Something good happened today.” He said, nonchalant, without a pause in his work,

“Well that’s awfully vague.” Plagg retorted, “Didn’t get Prince Charming?”

“Nope, I did.”

“Then what’s the deal?” With a sigh at the constant questioning, Adrien fell back in his seat. He looked up in annoyance at his furry friend, who pretended to be totally oblivious to his mild frustration,

“I think there’s a way I can make this work, if I can figure it out then maybe the role wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Oh so it _is_ the role.” Plagg rolled his eyes, “I don’t get you. The Prince is the best character! All you gotta do is be handsome and rich. Then everyone loves you.” Adrien glared,

“That’s the problem Plagg. I don’t want to be known as ‘handsome and rich’, that’s all anyone knows about me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Sheesh.” The Kwami said in a tired tone. He had only told him that a dozen times. Once more, Adrien reverted his attention back to the screen, leading Plagg to drift over to his side out of curiosity, “Just what are you trying to do anyway?” he said nothing, instead pointing to the head title of the current website he was researching.

 _“The Many Variations of Cinderella?”_ Plagg read and looked to his chosen, “Variations? I thought it was just one story.”

“It is, but it’s been told in a bunch of different ways. I’ve found a couple good ones. Cinderella is actually a really confident, self-reliant character, but so far the prince has always been the same.” He sighed, a little defeated, and slumped back into his chair as he stared down the document, “I was hoping I could show whatever I found to Alya since she wants to give it a little more depth, too.” _Maybe Marinette would like it as well_. He thought to himself, remembering the way she’d inspired him earlier.

It seemed like she wanted there to be more to it all as well, since she described him as a prince with good qualities other than appearance. ‘ _I think you’re going to be an amazing prince.’_ He recited her words in his head, ‘ _I don’t know anyone with more heart and kindness than you.’_ Maybe she wanted the characters to seem real like he and Alya did. He would have to work hard to make it so.

Adrien yawned then, looking from his computer screen to the clock on his desk. It was nearly ten, and suddenly he remembered that he had to get going. With a little more energy than before, Adrien stood from his seat, closing the browser and shutting down the computer. He would have to keep researching later, for now it could wait. After all, his Lady would be waiting for him.

He smiled to himself, it was incredible how much even thinking about her could lift his mood.

“Plagg,” He started, and his Kwami whined,

“Will I _ever_ get to rest for once?” Adrien didn’t bother answering a pointless question. Instead he turned and looked at his friend with a familiar fire in his eye,

“Claws out!”

It was the only appropriate response.

***

Although it was officially spring, the night air was still chilled with the passing of February. The cold left a light frost on every rooftop, and clouds of white with each breath as Chat made his careful way about the city. He had nearly slipped almost a dozen times already, but he hadn’t much farther to go as the rising figure of the Eiffel Tower grew closer. Picking up his pace a bit, Chat grabbed his weapon from his belt as he launched into the sky. Soaring above the streets, he released his staff, letting the weapon absorb the shock of the ground before he rocketed once more into the night, growing ever nearer to his destination. He was so close now he could almost taste it, sweet victory rising with each leap. He was going to make it, he was finally going to—

“ _AH!_ ” Chat yelped out as the figure swung by him, nearly knocking him off of his staff. It wasn’t until he regained his balance that he heard the unmistakable laughter and caught sight of a blur of red zooming ahead of him. Chat gritted his teeth to stop himself from smiling like a fool. _I’m not just going to **let** her win_. He was too stubborn for that, “Not this time!” he shouted after the girl ahead of him as he tripled his speed, gaining quickly on her heel. They were cutting it close, too close for him to slow down. Her laughter became more distinct as he neared the tower, and soon he was almost at her side. Just a little further and victory was his,

“Oh Chat!” her voice rang out over the wind. Chat looked to his right, incapable of ignoring her call, and suddenly started wishing he hadn’t. Of course there was Ladybug in all her glory, dark pigtails fluttering in the wind as she flew through the night. She was stunning as usual, but that wasn’t what had him regretting and feeling so blessed at the same time, “Try to catch up.” She said sweetly, and without warning, lifted her free hand to her lips before blowing a kiss in his direction.

That was all it took. In that split second of distraction, he’d managed to lose his footing and fall from his staff. Reaching out with expert reflexes, Chat grabbed onto the weapon and gripped hard, stopping his descent and sparing himself an uncomfortable landing in the trees below. His heart pounded in his chest –something that wasn’t caused by the fall—and he looked up to the top of the tower just as his Lady took her rightful place at its peak. Just like when he’d seen her before, his heart picked up its pace, doubling in speed at the mere sight of her. The way she waited confidently amongst the stars, looking out over Paris with her trademark Ladybug stance. And when she looked down to see him still clinging to his baton, he couldn’t help but feel her laugh was the most beautiful sound he’d ever hear.

“C’mon Kitty!” She shouted to him from her perch, “You lost the race! That means you’re on pastry duty.” Finally waking from his daydream, Chat smiled widely and made his way towards the tower. With precision—and poise—he landed gracefully next to the self-proclaimed winner. Immediately, his smile dropped as he feigned hurt,

“I’m terribly sorry milady, but I’m afraid I simply won’t be your pastry lackey tonight.” he dramatized, “I’ve been wounded too greatly by your betrayal.” Ladybug furrowed her brow at him, looking somewhere between curious and amused. With a knowing smile, she crossed her arms over her chest,

“I don’t remember betraying you.” She said, letting him play his game. Chat thanked her internally as he continued the act,

“Oh! How quickly you forget the pain you cause me. You’re cruel milady!” Chat held a hand to his chest as though she’d struck him, “How could you take advantage of something as pure as a man’s love? And all for what? A few baked goods?”

“Not just _any_ baked goods.” Ladybug corrected, “Chocolate tarts, from Le Grenier à Pain.”

Chat gasped,

“And I suppose I was to watch you eat such delicacies while I starve? For shame, Ladybug.” She giggled as he crossed his arms with a huff, and stubbornly looked away. When he didn’t turn back she took a pleading step forward,

“Oh Chat, I’m so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?”

“No, my heart is broken beyond repair.”

“What if I give you a tart?”

“Such low level bribery will never sway me!” Chat turned away from her completely then, and held his head in his hand in contemplation, “No, I’m afraid only one thing could possibly fix this.”

“What’s that?” Ladybug asked stifling a snort as she approached his back. Chat thought for a moment longer,

“Yes. It’s the only possible solution.”

“What is it Chat?” She begged half-heartedly. He paused for just a second, before spinning back around and leaning in toward Ladybug with a devilish smile,

“I will take no less than a kiss.”

For a split second, he could have sworn her cheeks looked pink, immediately making him wonder if he went too far. However, Chat didn’t get to wonder long before she pushed him away by the tip of his nose,

“Well then, I guess you’ll be wounded forever.” Ladybug shrugged, before looking up at him from the corner of her eye with a playful smile. His doubts washed away, and Chat grinned brightly at the gesture. They laughed once more at the whole moment before they recovered and began their patrol of the city.

***

At the end of each shift, it was a ritual that whoever showed up last to the meeting point would treat the other to a sweet of their choosing. Of the many nights they’d patrolled however, Chat had won maybe twice, so it was decided that the two keep the game and split the prize. It was his favourite part of the night, just sitting with Ladybug, chatting and looking over the lights of the Seine. He would buy her pastries every day if it meant he could spend this time with her, he wondered if she would let him. Chat fiddled with the lid of the pastry box, contemplating another bite when he heard a small sigh of satisfaction from the girl beside him,

“Le Grenier is the _best._ ” She said with delight as she finished off her first tart. Chat smiled brightly. With as much grandeur as possible, he bowed.

“Always happy to be of service.” Ladybug giggled, and looked at the water with an intensity he thought was quite sudden. Knowing his Lady though, she would bring it up on her own. Instead he decided to help himself to another sweet,

“You know something Chat?” Ladybug said thoughtfully as she swung her legs over the edge of the rooftop. Chat paused from picking up another tart to respond,

“I might know a thing or two.” He chuckled, earning him a look, “What’s that?” he amended, and she smiled,

“I was just thinking, you’re a really good actor.”

Chat nearly choked on his second tart, how did she know about all that? How did she know what he was worrying about? Did she figure him out? After a split second of panic, reasoning came through. _Okay, calm down Adrien, she just complimented you, you play around all the time it’s not that weird. Just a coincidence._ And although he knew it was just a coincidence, something about the compliment still made him feel comforted about his situation. He sort of wanted to hear more,

“Yeah? What makes you say that?”

“Hm? Oh… Well it’s like earlier, despite the intended drama you were a pretty believable wounded knight.” She said with a laugh, flicking some crumbs off the roof’s ledge, “And you’re always doing things like that you know? You improv all these little scenarios out of nowhere, sometimes just for fun, but also in battle. I mean, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat Copycat if you hadn’t kept up that act about us being together.” Chat tried not feel hurt by that, since he _had_ been lying about their relationship. But his feelings for her were definitely real, she just didn’t know it. He decided to ignore it. Ladybug fidgeted a bit, focusing more on her fingers than anything else, “I guess what I’m trying to say is, you have a lot of talent. And I really hope you decide to pursue it. You’re amazing, Chat.”

When she finished her piece, he didn’t respond. No, he _couldn’t_ respond. She just said he was amazing, she being _Ladybug_. _What’s wrong with you?_ Chat thought to himself as he tried to escape his shock. _She’s told you that before hasn’t she?_ Yes she had, she was always telling him he was a great partner and that she needed him, but this was different. This was the first time she’d ever really complimented him on something personal. Something unprofessional. She told him he was a great actor, so it was true right? While he was caught up in his thoughts, Ladybug turned to see his flushed face, and suddenly went red herself, “Oh I’m sorry! Was that weird?” As though he’d been doused in cold water, Chat woke from his stupor and immediately went into apologetic mode,

“No! No, it wasn’t weird, sorry. It’s just… It was nice to hear that, I guess no one’s ever complimented me like that before.” His looks were pretty much the end-all and be-all of his personality as far as anyone else was concerned,

“Really?” Ladybug looked a little sad when he said this. _Oh crap, now you’ve gone and made her worry._ Chat smiled, pulling his hands up in front of him in an attempt to ease the situation,

“It’s fine, seriously. I know I’m good at things.” _Like upsetting the girl I like._ He added mentally. Ladybug looked at him with a mixture of concern and sadness, before the expression morphed into determination. She stood up on the ledge suddenly, looking out over the city with a new energy,

“Well then,” She said confidently, looking back down to her companion, “I guess I’ll have to praise you more.” Ladybug shot him a reassuring smile, and Chat felt a heat bubbling up from the pit of his stomach,

“Yeah,” He mumbled so she couldn’t hear, “I’d like that.”

He watched as Ladybug stretched and yawned, suddenly realizing the evening was coming to an end. Wondering what time it was, Chat stood from his place on the ledge as well, packing up the pastry box and handing it to his comrade, “Here, you can have the rest.” He said with smile before adding, “I need to watch my figure.” Ladybug laughed and lightly hit him in the shoulder,

“What a gentleman.” She huffed before tucking the box to her side. Chat rubbed his shoulder a bit, before he looked upon her with a thoughtful expression,

“So, I’m curious.” He said as he tapped a finger to his chin,

“Careful Kitty, remember our talk about curiosity and the cat.” Ladybug laughed. Although he always appreciated her contribution to puns, Chat chose to ignore her comment and focus on the matter at hand,

“Really though, what brought on all this talk about my acting ability?” He thought aloud, “Unless you were thinking about it for some reason. Is milady feeling a little envious of my performance skills?”

“No!” Ladybug said a little too loudly. Chat looked at her wide-eyed, and stared. She returned the gaze, mouth opening a little as she tried to process her recovery, “I-I mean I’m not in a play! AH-I mean why would you think that?” Her face was beat red, and suddenly Chat understood. _So, even Ladybug has a weakness._ He just _had_ to take advantage of it,

“Oh? Are we having some pre-performance doubts?” Chat smiled his cheshire grin, creeping closer to his Lady, “Did you want me to teach you? Want to learn from the master, huh?”

“Ugh, I shouldn’t have said anything.” Ladybug grunted in irritation, and started to walk down the length of the roof, “That’s what happens when you treat a stray, it won’t leave you alone.”

“Awe come on Bugaboo, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Hey! Maybe we can pretend you’re not mad at me, start practicing y’know?”

“Ugh!” she groaned again and Chat howled with laughter, finally catching up to her side. As she neared the edge of the building he reached out and gently touched her arm, leading her to turn back towards him

“I’m only joking Ladybug.” He spoke with a little disappointment in his tone. He didn’t want her to leave, not so soon. She sighed and smiled up at him, before tapping his nose lightly,

“I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m afraid I have to go.” Right on cue, Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo from her waist and cast it out to the nearest building; but before taking off she looked to her feline friend one more time,

“After all, it’s nearly midnight.” And at that exact moment, her earrings beeped.

She winked once before jumping from the ledge and off into the night, and while she did, Chat could only stare. Not _just_ because of her dazzling exit, but also because of the idea it gave him.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell chimed the first toll of midnight, and Adrien knew this was the answer he’d been searching for.

He finally knew how to fix his Charming problem.


	5. Sondheim and Lapine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I’m alive
> 
> WOW, it has been a long time since I’ve updated, life hit hard. But lately I’ve had some time on my hands, so I was able to complete this chapter and start a new one! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because there’s more to come. And if you don’t like it then… I’m sorry?
> 
> Anyways, here’s the fifth chapter of LSoM. Enjoy! :3

Before the ringing started, the room was already in chaos. Everywhere along the floor there were scattered papers, some torn apart, others balled up and viciously tossed around. The desk was flooded with empty cans of soda and energy drinks, and a coffee cup lay empty where it had fallen in the trash bin. A few books were sitting on the bed, and out of them came sticky notes of different colours and sizes, each customized with pen and pencil descriptions; some of which included nasty words. The only visible life within the room was the computer monitor, which displayed a single document of the letter ‘g’ over and over. The screen blared a blueish glow over the mess of a room and its single inhabitant, and as the ringing went on, she woke from her resting place on the keyboard.

As she stirred from her restless sleep, Alya groaned painfully, laying a cautious hand to her aching forehead, before wincing back at the touch. Too much caffeine and too little sleep were not a good combination, and every move she made was only contributing to the pain. The phone’s ringing didn’t help either,

“Ugh, I’m coming…” She whined as though it was listening to her. Slowly, she stood from the wreckage of her all-night research project, ignoring the carnage as she made her way to the phone lazily lying on her bed. She answered without looking at the caller display, letting out a groggy hello. The bright, sun-shiney response she received made her headache worse,

“Good morning Alya!” The voice practically radiated, “It’s Adrien, from class.” Alya held back a grunt of displeasure and rubbed the bridge of her nose; not because of who answered, just because of _how_ he answered. How was he even awake right now? Setting aside her early-morning anguish, Alya put on her best awake voice,

“Don’t worry I could tell it was you Adrien.” She almost would’ve laughed at his formality, if she weren’t so tired anyway,

“Oh, right I guess my name probably popped up…” He said with a nervous laugh, “I should’ve thought of that.”

Alya could tell he was acting a little off, but pretended not to notice it. She was sure she’d find out the cause soon enough. Why else would he call her?

“What’s up Adrien?”

“Hm?” The boy on the other line hummed, as though he were deep in thought, “Oh! Right! Sorry, I was just calling because… Well, I’m not sure how well it would work… Or if it’s even good… but I was thinking yesterday and I did some research and-”

“Whoa, Adrien.” Alya halted him midsentence, urging him to slow down before he hurt them both, “Take a deep breath, and tell me what’s on your mind.” She heard a pause on the other end of the line as he took her advice. Once his exercise was over, his voice came back with a thousand times more confidence than before,

“I have an idea.” He said finally,

“An idea?” Alya asked, suddenly a little more intrigued, “For what?”

 

* * *

For the fifth time that morning, Marinette hit snooze on her continuous source of irritation. Despite her numerous attempts to destroy her foe, the horrible sound kept coming back with a vengeance. No matter what, the enemy wouldn’t be deterred, it would not rest until she gave up.

The alarm went off once again, and this time she dismissed it, before rolling over in bed with a groan. She was defeated. _Why did I stay up so late talking to Chat?_ She though regretfully as she slowly rose to a sitting position. With a stretch and a yawn, Marinette looked around the room groggily, before her eyes rested on the pastry box at her desk. Memories of the previous evening came flooding back to her, and she smiled fondly as she remembered her banter with her friend,

_“No one’s ever complimented me like that before…”_

And just like that, she felt herself suddenly consumed by worry. With a small sigh, Marinette made her way down from the loft and toward the bathroom. As she turned on the faucet, her mind was preoccupied by thoughts of Chat and how he had looked when he’d said that. She could remember it so clearly. He hadn’t looked sad at all, not like she thought he would. Instead, he’d looked empty; almost as if he had accepted no one ever _would_ like something about him. Even now it made Marinette shiver, to think that such an amazing person could think so little of himself, someone who saves Paris on a daily basis. But then again, Ladybug had her fair share of insecurities. _It’s not always easy._ Marinette thought to herself, and it really wasn’t, but she always had Chat telling her how incredible she was, keeping her spirits up and confidence high. Maybe she just needed to do the same for him. She just needed to say determined. Feeling a little better about the situation, Marinette retreated from the bathroom to retrieve a towel, but she was interrupted by the chime of her cell phone on the bed,

**Alya: Be at the school in an hour, and don’t be late!**

She stared at the message for a while, a little confused and unsure of how to process its urgency, before looking at the time on her phone. It was 9 o’clock, on a Sunday, what could be so important? With a small shrug she typed out a response, ****

_Marinette: Um… You do know it’s Sunday right?_

**Alya: Of course I do! I’ve called a meeting. The whole class is gonna be there, and so are you. No flaking out.**

_Marinette: Wait, the whole class?? What’s this all about?_

**Alya: I suppose you’ll find out in an hour ;)**

Marinette let out a groan of annoyance and glared at the screen. As much as it pained her she couldn’t blame her friend for assuming she might be late, it was only fair. Instead of making a fuss, she returned to the bathroom in a bit more of a hurry to get ready, leaving Alya with a simple ‘alright’. But all the while she wondered; what could possibly be so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?

 

* * *

 

By the time she was finished getting ready, Marinette noticed she still had a half hour before she needed to be at the school, and decided to make a point by being early. After talking her parents into letting her skip her chores for the morning —well it was _absolutely vital_ that she attend this meeting, she couldn’t let her class down— she grabbed her notebook and made way to her destination. Victory was hers once she arrived and noticed she was the first one there.

“Perfect!” she celebrated to herself, looking around the empty schoolyard,

“Now there’s no way Alya can be mad at you.” Tikki chirped from her place in Marinette’s purse, smiling proudly as she looked at her chosen. Marinette returned the gesture,

“I feel bad making people wait all the time,” She said as she climbed up the stairs, taking a seat at the top, “It’s only fair that I do the waiting when I can.” Tikki giggled at the comment while Marinette retrieved her notebook and pencil. _Besides, I can use this time to work on some ideas._ She thought, opening the book in her lap. With a small hum, she flipped through the pages, stopping on when she saw her most recent design. Carefully she ran her fingers over the drawing, taking in every pencil stroke as she beamed with pride. It was a royal blue Victorian tunic, composed of a hussar styled jacket with golden braided detailing, white breeches, and black hessian boots— each trimmed with another flurry of gold design. The shoulders of the jacket were decorated with military epaulettes, and a black leather belt sat at the mannequin’s hip, brandishing a circular buckle covered in intricate looping patterns. The outfit was finished with a beautiful sword in a black sheath, its gilded hilt decorated with precious gemstones of different sizes and colour. From the belt it emerged, bringing the whole piece together as a most regal composition. And yet…

“Hmm…” Marinette chewed the end of her pencil relentlessly, staring at the page with discontent. She looked to each garment three times over before letting her head fall in her hands with a groan. _Something’s off._ She thought, tapping her pencil to her knee in frustration. The design was fine, Marinette knew that, she actually thought it looked amazing. But it was Adrien’s costume, and when she thought of him wearing it… Something seemed wrong. She looked it over once more, wondering what she could possibly do to make it less generic and more Adrien, what could show off his unique features,

“Maybe… Maybe it’s the colour?” She toyed with the idea, trying to picture the tunic as red or yellow, before a sudden thought creeped into her mind, “I wonder what Adrien’s favourite colour is.”

“Green.” Adrien’s voice spoke,

“Oh! That might work!” She cheered turning to the boy who was peeking over her shoulder, and in a second her revelation was replaced with shock. For a moment, he just looked at her with his normal good-natured grin while she gaped, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. _How is he always sneaking up on me like that?_ Marinette shook her head a little, trying to regain her composition, “A-Adrien!” She finally spoke, inching away from him a little since had literally only been _centimeters away,_ “H-hi!”

Adrien didn’t seem perturbed by her awkwardness, instead he greeted her flawlessly (as usual), and turned back to the picture in her notebook,

“Is this my costume?” He asked and she nodded dumbly, “It’s incredible! I feel like a prince just looking at it.” Adrien raised a hand then and gestured toward the page, “May I?” Marinette nodded again, unable to find the necessary words as she handed him her design book. He took it gratefully, studying each and every detail like the expert he probably was. And all the while Marinette watched the excitement in his emerald eyes. Green was definitely the right choice, “…a deep forest green.”

“I’m sorry?” Adrien said, turning his eyes towards her and causing her heart to skip a beat. This boy was going to give her a heart attack one day.

“Oh! T-the tunic… It’s the wrong colour.” She muttered, a little embarrassed

“Ah, so that’s why you asked that.” Adrien laughed a little, and he looked like he was going to say something, but his attention was drawn by the dress on the neighboring page. The design was all pink, bustle, and frilly, and not to mention _very_ petite, it definitely would have suited Rose, too bad that wasn’t the case. Adrien’s expression was neutral, and it stayed that way when he turned to Marinette, “Is this your costume?”

“No.” Marinette said with a shake of her head, “I started these before we found out the roles, when I thought someone else would be Cinderella… But it doesn’t suit me.”

“You sound sad when you say that.” Adrien frowned, looking to the dress again, “I don’t completely disagree with you. You would look good in pink, but this dress isn’t mature enough.” He nodded to himself, “You need something more elegant. A dress that shows off your confidence. Something more… Marinette.” Adrien turned to her then, holding out the closed sketchbook and making Marinette’s face turn a new shade of crimson. He smiled then, and any hopes she had had at giving proper thanks fell away, leaving her completely speechless,

“Hey! You’re here already?” The two turned to the abrupt sound to see Kim and Max making their way up the stairs. Max waved slightly, but sighed when Kim continued his rambling, “Is my clock off? Or did the dodgy duo finally make it on time for once?” Marinette grimaced, looking down at Kim without patience. He ruined the moment, and to tease them no less. Next to her, Adrien laughed,

“I guess I’m pretty bad for that, huh?” He said and stood from his place on the steps, leaving Marinette a little disappointed; she had liked being so close to him. As Kim and Max drew closer Marinette rose and greeted them with a kind smile,

“I can’t risk being late to a meeting like this. I mean I am the class rep.”

“Not _just_ the class rep.” Alya corrected as she rounded the corner, “You’re also the star of the show! Don’t forget Marinette you’re an important part of this production.”

Suddenly, Marinette remembered all that she’d been dreading for the past few days. But in spite of her obvious discomfort, Alya came to her side and smiled widely as she wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulders in the most relieving way possible. Marinette giggled a little uneasily, but was happy to know that Alya always had her back, just like another, furrier, friend of hers.

“I won’t forget…” She mumbled to herself as Alya pulled away, turning to the three boys staggered on the steps behind them,

“So, did you guys get them?”

“Yup!” Max piped up as Kim reached into his pocket and revealed a ring of jangling keys, “M. Damocles gave us permission to use the conference room for three hours. Then the janitors are going to come by for the keys to lock up.”

“Perfect! I wish we could get a little more time, but this should work for today.” Alya grinned with an enthusiasm Marinette hadn’t expected to see so soon. Just a day ago the girl had been groaning about this play, but now she looked like it was the best thing since Ladybug. Marinette scratched her head at the sudden mood change,

“Wait, we’re using the conference room? What are we getting all excited about?” The second the question had been asked, the redhead turned to Marinette with a fiery look in her eye,

“Only the greatest version of Cinderella since Sondheim and Lapine!” Alya radiated as she took the keys from Kim and turned towards the school doors, “Adrien and I have been up since seven working on it, but we need the whole class to run over the details.”

“Wait, what?” Marinette looked from Alya to Adrien with a shocked expression, and the boy smiled a little timidly in return. Giving her head a quick shake, she followed closely behind Alya to the main doors of the foyer, “Exactly what do you mean by the greatest ‘version’ of Cinderella?”

“All in due time.” Alya said with a bright smile as she pushed open the front door, “But first, we need to get set up. We only have an hour before everyone else gets here.”

“An hour?” Marinette called after her, confused, “I thought everyone was going to be here now.”

“Well I had to make sure you and Adrien would get here on time.” Alya laughed, Max and Kim joining her as the last two to walk through the door blushed.

 _Well, at least I’m not alone._ Marinette thought to herself as she exchanged a guilty look with the boy walking next to her. _Although, I doubt the reason Adrien’s late is because he runs around the city in a skintight suit._


	6. The 'Cinderella Story'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! You’re not mistaken! TWO updates in ONE week? After a four month hiatus?? It’s not impossible! I’m so happy right now since school is almost over that I’m procrastinating ALL my work and writing creatively! :D Hooray for logic! 
> 
> Anywho, here’s Chapter 6 of LSoM. Have a good time :3

“Alright! Glad to see everyone could make it!” Alya nearly shouted from the front of the room in an attempt to win the focus of the group. Despite her take-charge attitude, not one pair of eyes turned her way. All the students were conversing excitedly, wondering what could have brought them all together on such short notice. Although some sat in silence in protest of the role votes —namely, a certain blonde brat and her companion— most were chatting, exchanging ideas of what exactly was going to be announced,

“Maybe the play is going to be on roller blades!” Alix suggested, nearly jumping in her seat,

“Like Starlight Express! You know?”

“I doubt it. You’re the only one here who knows how to skate.” Max informed her and adjusted his glasses,

“It probably has something to do with backstage production, perhaps we’re going to invest in a newer lighting system for the auditorium!”

“What? Where would we get the funding for that?”

“Maybe Chloé’s father would be willing to support us.”

“Pfft! Yeah right!” argued the blonde, breaking her silent protest,

“There’s no way daddy would help _you_ after you all made me the Evil Stepmother!”

“Chloé don’t be upset, the stepmother is a really interesting part.” Mylène offered but was immediately shot down by Chloé’s evil glare. She shied away, backing out of the conflict as soon as she’d jumped in,

“I don’t care what you think, this play was _my_ idea in the first place! _I_ should get the lead!”

This time, she didn’t receive any response. Her classmates decided it was better to ignore her than start a fight, and as far as Marinette was concerned, that was the right choice to make.

She looked back to the front of the room at Alya, who was shaking her head at her failed attempts to gain their peers’ concentration. Marinette tried a reassuring smile, hoping that everyone would quiet down soon, and almost as though someone read her mind the lights above their heads flickered on and off. Suddenly, everyone went silent as they turned their attention to the doorway where Nino stood with his hand on the light switch,

“Sorry to go all elementary on you guys, but let’s get this meeting started. We don’t have much time.” And that was enough, no one breathed a word as he returned to his seat at the table, successfully cutting off the chatter and turning the floor back to Alya,

“Thank you Nino,” she said gratefully before turning back to the group with restored determination

“So! As you all may have guessed, I’ve called this meeting to discuss some things about our play.”

The room was astonishingly quiet as she continued,  
  
“I know a lot of you have theories of what we’re going to announce, but I can assure you that despite what you may have wanted you will all love the idea we have planned. Of course we’re all working on this together, so we wanted to make sure you all know before any decisions are made.” Alya moved to the side of the table where her laptop sat, and after pushing a button on the remote in her hand a screen began to scroll down the wall,

“A presentation? Doesn’t that seem a little much?” Marinette heard Kim whisper to Ivan, who shushed him appropriately. The screen hit its end, and almost immediately the lights went off. The projector turned on a moment later to reveal a picture of Cinderella running from Prince Charming, leaving behind the glass slipper,

“If you’re at all like me, then you might’ve been disappointed in the fairytale chosen for the class,” Alya said with a not-so-subtle look towards Chloé, who didn’t seem to notice,

“But Adrien has come up with an idea that everyone can enjoy, and we’ve spent the morning coming up with a basic plan on how to proceed with it.” Adrien stood then, and without any fear or nervous demeanor, he walked to the front of the room and stood next to the screen with an excited smile,

“Well, I was thinking yesterday about Cinderella and it’s many variations,” he said with an air of glee about him, “I thought about how there are stories that resemble the typical Cinderella story. And then I realized, what if we found our own ‘Cinderella Story’? Not only that but it could be realistic, even based on our own city, and we could open the show to all of Paris instead of just the school.”

Everyone looked a little confused then, and Marinette was no exception. Personal to the city? How would they do that? By placing it in France? She looked around the room to see everyone else wearing the same thoughtful expression she was probably wearing herself. It didn’t really make sense, and why would the whole city want to go?

“So I guess what I’m getting at,” Adrien started up again, noting that not everyone was on the same page, “Is that there are a lot of great things that have been happening recently in Paris, namely, the arrival of Ladybug and Chat Noir. And I couldn’t help but notice a small similarity between the heroes’ story, the one we’re putting on ourselves.” At that moment, Alya hit a key on her computer, and the picture of Cinderella running from the Prince slowly morphed into a picture of Ladybug running from Chat Noir after an Akuma attack. That’s when a simultaneous click went off in Marinette’s head, and the heads of her fellow classmates.

The room stayed silent for what felt like an eternity as the students processed what had just been presented to them; and while all of them were going through some form of reaction, Marinette knew she was the only one feeling the way she felt. After all, no one else in this room was Ladybug.

Ladybug and Chat Noir… as Cinderella and the Prince. She would have to play herself. Not only that, but Adrien would be playing her partner. Not only _that_ , but he would be playing her best friend—and if the story went as told—that meant she would have to pretend to be in love with her _best friend_ , who is being played by her crush. It was all so confusing, for a second she thought her head may explode. Chat Noir and Ladybug, in love? Did that mean that everyone thought they were _supposed_ to be together? If they thought the stories were similar then that must mean they all did… Including…

“Adrien!” Rose shouted with an overwhelming sound of delight in her tone, “That’s perfect, what a wonderful idea! Ladybug and Chat Noir in a Cinderella Story! It’s so romantic. ” Adrien felt shocked by the sudden positive reaction after such a long pause from his audience, and the second he saw the smile on Rose’s face, he felt a grin spread across his own,

“Really?”

“Yeah, it makes so much sense.” Ivan chimed in, “I mean, they don’t know each other’s identities right?”

“It’s true! And the two of them are definitely in love, I can tell!” sighed Mylène, as she stared off in a dreamy haze,

“Awesome.” Juleka mumbled,

“I don’t know about romance, but it could make some scenes more action packed. That would be wicked!” Kim shouted, and Alix touched a hand to her chin humming in agreement,

“I could make Paris-inspired backgrounds. I could use the Eiffel tower, and maybe even Notre-Dame?” Nathanaël spoke, more so to himself.

As his classmates continued to throw out there ideas, Adrien felt an arm drape over his shoulders, and turned to see Nino at his side,

“Sick idea dude, this’ll be a great show.” He said as he gave Adrien a pat on the back, making him feel incredibly proud. He looked up then at Chloé, who looked a little less irritated than before,

“What do you think Chlo?” he asked hopefully, knowing they could never move on without her support. Hearing Adrien directly ask Chloé’s opinion, the class went silent once more and looked on at the prima donna with an intense expectation. The blonde looked at him and sighed, but not in annoyance, more like settlement,

“As much as I don’t think that… _feline_ is good enough for Ladybug, I wouldn’t mind putting on a play to celebrate her efforts. I guess I’m fine with it.” At that, everyone cheered, which caused Chloé to scoff and cross her arms over her chest. Adrien felt himself brighten up. Everyone had agreed, which meant that his idea had been a good one after all! Not to mention the whole class was getting something out of it; Alix and Kim got the action, Nathanaël got his set, Rose, Juleka, and Mylène got their romance, Alya and Chloé got Ladybug, and he and Marinette got… Marinette?

It was then that Adrien noticed silence coming from the front of the table, and he glanced down at Marinette, realizing she hadn’t said a word. He watched her and found himself feeling very concerned all of a sudden at her confused, worried expression and the way it looked like she was troubled by her thoughts,

“Marinette?” He tried getting her attention, but she showed no response,

“Marinette? Are you okay?” Still nothing, “Marinette?”

She turned to him then, and for a split second he could’ve sworn she looked more than a little anxious, but her expression changed quickly when she noticed he’d been talking to her,

“Huh? What?” She said a little shocked, and Adrien tried his best to be calming,

“Are you okay? You haven’t said anything in a while.”

“W— y-yeah! I’m totally fine! Just so excited about this idea you came up with! It’s great!” She smiled at him and then turned towards Rose and Mylène who started asking her excited questions about the costumes, and although she said she was okay Adrien couldn’t help but feel something was wrong. That she wasn’t saying what was really on her mind. His queries went unanswered, and were cut off the second Alya took the stage again,

“Well I think it’s decided!” she said as the class re-grouped, “Since everyone’s on board, we can meet with Mme. Bustier tomorrow and tell her our plans. Let’s make this the best Cinderella story Paris has ever seen!”

At her proclamation the whole class started cheering, most of the applause directed towards Adrien. He felt extremely proud that he was able to bring everyone together, that was his goal. While everyone cheered, he let out a bit of Chat Noir and soaked in their gratitude, for once feeling like he deserved the praise his classmates were giving him.

Even though he could sense something was off

* * *

After the class had discussed some of the minor details of what they would tell Mme. Bustier, Max informed everyone that the janitors would be by soon to close up the school and they all parted ways. The whole time they were at the school and every moment she spent walking with Alya afterwards, she pretended she was just as excited as everyone else. It wasn’t until she had returned home, kicked off her boots, and found herself in the safety of her room that she let her façade break away, a long groan escaping her lungs as she slid down next to her chaise. She stared upwards, feeling all hope was lost, 

“What’s wrong Marinette?” Her attention was drawn from the ceiling down to her Kwami companion, who rested on her knee. She could feel the little creature’s concern the second she’d spaced out at the meeting, realizing just what was to come over the next few months. She sighed,

“Tikki, what am I supposed to do about this play?”

“Well, act in it of course!” the Kwami giggled and Marinette smiled slightly, always appreciating Tikki’s lighthearted personality,

“Well I _know_ that. But what about all this… Ladybug business?” She said as she wrapped her arms around her knees, “I mean, isn’t it a little strange? Me playing my own alter ego?”

Tikki thought about this for a moment, before shrugging her tiny shoulders,

“Not really, she’s a character you know very well. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Well what if someone figures out who I am?”

“I don’t think that will happen, you don’t need to worry! If anything people will just think you’re a really, _really_ good actor.” She offered with a kind smile. Marinette thought about it, it was true, she was supposed to be acting so maybe nobody would know. Besides, being in love with Chat was pretty out of character for Ladybug, if she could pull that off…

Letting her head fall back to rest on the chaise, Marinette let out another sigh. There was the _real_ issue at hand, she didn’t know if she could act something like that out. Pretending to be in love with Adrien was one thing—since she actually did like him—but Chat? He was her best friend. Could she really pretend to love him? Not to mention that since it was his idea, Adrien must have thought that Ladybug and Chat should be together. In a way, that meant he wanted her to be with someone else, even if he didn’t know it.

Then there was the photo, the other thing Marinette had consumed herself with since the announcement. She recognized the picture Alya used for the presentation and remembered the day it was taken. It was early on in their partnership, and they had been working together for a while at that point. They’d had a run in with another Akuma, and after the fight was over Chat asked Marinette if they could reveal themselves for the first time. Marinette had found herself feeling panicked, they were just getting to know each other, and she didn’t know what to do or say. ‘Yeah you may have helped me save the city back there, but I don’t trust you’? There was no way she could do that to him. So instead of answering, she thought it may be better to avoid the situation altogether, saying nothing but a simple ‘sorry’ before flying off. She had hoped he might be able to let it go for a while, that maybe he’d be upset but it would wear off eventually.

The next time they met however, he simply smiled her way and laughed, joking around as usual. It was like it had never happened, and she fooled herself into believing what she did was okay. But back then she hadn’t seen him, hadn’t looked back as she ran off, and that picture made her realize the truth. Because what she didn’t see was Chat reaching out to her retreating figure, looking more hurt than any Akumatized victim they’d ever encountered, and somehow, he’d pushed all that away for her.

So on top of her conflicted feelings, she was feeling guilty as well. Chat was her friend, and she treated him so horribly,

“Tikki…” Marinette croaked. The Kwami looked up at her, recognizing the sadness in her voice almost immediately,

“Do you… Do you think I’m bad friend?” She said with far too much insecurity before hiding her head in her arms. Hearing this put a sad look in Tikki’s eyes, but after a short moment the spirit gave a knowing smile,

“I think that everyone makes mistakes.” She said with a gentle touch to her chosen’s knee,

“And I think that when you realize you’ve hurt someone, there is always a way to make amends.”

_“I guess I’ll just have to praise you more.”_

Marinette raised her head from her barrier, and saw Tikki giving her a warm smile that left her feeling reassured and confident. She looked at her for just a moment, before raising the Kwami in her hands and holding her against her cheek,

“Thank you Tikki.” she said, and felt a small giggle coming from the creature, “You’re an amazing friend.”

“So are you Marinette.” She reassured, and Marinette pulled her hands away, allowing Tikki to float up and face her. The two of them laughed together, and Marinette found herself once again surprised by just how comforting Tikki could be. She was lucky to have such an incredible friend,

“You know,” Marinette said thoughtfully, pressing a finger to her chin, “I wonder if Chat Noir’s Kwami is as insightful as you.”

Suddenly, Tikki grimaced, looking a little skeptical about her chosen’s statement,

“Yeah… I’m not too sure about that.” She said with a small sigh. Marinette couldn’t help but feel like she was sighing at a memory rather than what she said, but shrugged it off with a quick stretch,

“Well, I guess if I’m gonna do this I may as well try my best.” Rising from the floor, Marinette made her way to her work desk, grabbing her sketchbook from her bag as she sat down. From her desk drawer, she retrieved her assortment of coloured pencils and drawing supplies before resting her drawing book on the desk. With expert precision, Marinette flipped to the page with Adrien’s tunic—writing the word ‘green’ as a very bold note on the page— and the old Cinderella costume, before tearing the dress’ page away to start anew. At the top of the page she wrote ‘ _My_ Cinderella Costume’, and grabbed several shades of red from her pencils,

“I guess Adrien was right,” she said to Tikki as the spirit nibbled on a cookie, “I’m gonna have to make this dress a little more ‘me’.”


	7. Opportunity

When she entered the classroom early Monday morning armed with two coffees and a fresh bottle of ibuprofen, Caline Bustier was prepared for the worst.

Despite her authoritative position and the firm, confident, demeanor she had presented the previous Friday afternoon, she was still human, and being such meant she was well aware of her student’s behaviours and attitudes. She knew that more than a few of them would be disappointed by the results of the vote— that’s the very reason she held it right before the weekend— but it was very unlikely that a few days to let it settle would be enough for everyone to get over it. Knowing this, Caline had spent the weekend considering every possible reaction she could receive—a possible Akuma incident included—and after considering every possibility she had done her best to prepare for the room full of angry, emotional teenagers awaiting her.

And so it wasn’t that unnatural, after all the planning and consideration, for her to be utterly shocked by the quiet group that greeted her, with an entire plan set up for the play; one that they had made together, without any mediation of any sort on her part. It took a full minute before Caline realized she had spaced out, and another 30 seconds before she noticed one of her coffees had fallen to the ground. But once the mess was cleaned up, and she had convinced herself she hadn’t stepped into a parallel universe, she listened to the students’ idea in full detail.

Of course she agreed to it immediately.

* * *

 

“We did it!” Alya sighed, slowly sinking into her seat. Seeing her more relaxed made Marinette smile a bit, since despite having a plan she could tell Alya was still tense about whether or not Mme. Bustier would go along with their idea. However, once they got out the basics their teacher seemed more than pleased that they had come up with something so brilliant. After that, the first couple hours of the day flew by as they discussed the Ladybug and Chat Noir story in further detail, and before they knew it they were moving onto their next class. As they settled into the comfort of acceptance, Marinette was happy to see all the weight lifted from Alya’s shoulders, and Adrien’s as well,

“What did we do exactly?” She teased, and Alya gave her a thoughtful look,

“Well, in the simplest terms, we made this play a lot more bearable.” She replied, sitting up in her seat and leaning forward to give Adrien a friendly—and maybe slightly rough—pat on the back,

“And it’s all thanks to genius Agreste!” Adrien rubbed his shoulder where she’d hit him, wincing a little but smiling all the while,

“I wouldn’t say genius.” He countered, when Nino clapped him on the back in the same spot. Marinette almost laughed at his attempt to appear un-phased,

“Are you kidding? Not even Alya thought of it and she runs the Ladyblog. Be proud of yourself dude!”

Adrien let out a small grin, but Marinette couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t all that convinced. In fact, ever since the end of the meeting the day before, he seemed a little unsure of everything with the play. Though it nagged at her she thought perhaps she was only imagining it, after all why would Adrien feel insecure about his own idea? Especially when everyone loved it so much. Before she could go any further into the depths of her thoughts, Marinette was pulled back to reality by a tug on her shirt from her neighbour. She looked to Alya— who was beckoning her with one hand to come closer for a hushed talk— and leaned in towards her,

“I’m going to have you and Adrien help me with research tonight.” She said excitedly, using her tablet to block their conversation from the boys ahead.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, wondering why this had to be such a secret,

“Okay, but why? I thought there were more writers to help you.”

“There are.”

“Then why do you need us?” Out of nowhere, Alya’s expression went from excited to unreadable. She looked somewhere between intense and knowing as she leaned closer and whispered even quieter,

“Isn’t it obvious?” Marinette’s heart dropped, did she figure out that she was Ladybug? She tried to appear unruffled by the question, doing her best to look aloof before shrugging awkwardly. It was good for her that she came off as clueless. Alya sighed and rolled her eyes,

“This is a great excuse for you and Adrien to work closely together! I can’t wait for rehearsals I need you two to start getting friendly now.” Marinette almost sighed with relief until she realized that her friend was fantasizing about putting her in a very uncomfortable position,

“What?” She said—quite loudly actually—before she caught herself and turned back to Alya, making a point by whispering especially quietly,

“Alya! Do you want me to make a fool of myself? After tonight Adrien is going to think I’m crazy!”

“Why would he think that?”

“Well you would too if I talked to you like this!” Marinette faced her completely then and put on her best awkward voice,

“‘Hi shirt, I like your Adrien, I mean- hi Adrien, I like your face, I mean-‘”

“Okay I get it! No more examples.” Alya hissed, waving a hand to cut her off. She sighed and adjusted her glasses, knitting her brow together in a way that only meant she was going into extreme persuasion mode,

“I understand you’re freaked out, but you can’t keep watching from the sidelines. Take action girl!” She said eagerly, growing more determined,

“I saw you two yesterday outside the school and it was going so well! I know you can do that again.”

“Wait, were you spying on us?”

“Oh come on Marinette, I’m not going to let you change the subject.” Alya said with a sly smile as her friend pouted, “Regardless, I’m a journalist. It’s what I do.”

“Yeah?” Marinette retorted with a point of her own, “Well you’re also the lead writer for a play now, and you have an entire writing team at your disposal. You shouldn’t put them second to your friend’s love life.”

It was Alya’s turn to pout now, slumping a bit in her seat like she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It wasn’t as though Marinette was exaggerating, Alya’s scheming got the better of her, and every once in a while it was just too much.

She exhaled in an attempt to release all the disappointment she felt, and Marinette felt a little guilty. While Alya was bold and didn’t always think things through, she really did mean well, and Marinette knew that,

“Look, I know you’re just trying to help, but don’t let it get in the way of your responsibility, okay?” Alya looked at her from the corner of her eye and hummed thoughtfully, turning towards Marinette once more,

“Fine, but you at least have to  _try_  and talk to Adrien. Take opportunity when it presents itself and stop worrying about what might happen. We both know you think about that too much.”

As much as she didn’t like to admit it, Marinette knew that Alya was right. She hated that,

“Besides, you have to get used to it. You two are going to be working together a lot because of this.”  _She does have a point,_ Marinette thought with distaste. With a drawn out groan, she gave into logic,

“Alright, I promise.” She mumbled, and at that Alya beamed with joy and gave her friend a small hug,

“Yay! You’re growing up!” She said with a thousand times more enthusiasm than she had before. Marinette laughed at her over the top comment before looking ahead at the back of the boy sat in front of her. Thinking about what she’d just agreed to made her a little nervous, but she knew Alya was right, she had to stop letting nerves get in the way.  _I have to dig up a little bit of courage_ , she thought with determination.  _Talking to the boy you like shouldn’t be harder than fighting Akumas anyway._

* * *

 

As he scribbled down notes on the 7 Regions of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, Adrien found his mind wandering to other, not so physics related regions. He was still slightly stuck with his thoughts of the day before, and how everyone had seemed to be happy about the decision for the play with the exception of the person who had inspired him to make a change. Adrien remembered Marinette’s anxious expression from yesterday and wondered to himself if he had done something to upset her. Perhaps he had made too big of a change? Or maybe she just didn’t like the idea to begin with? Regardless, he wanted everyone to enjoy the play, and seeing her so distressed made him a little worried.  _You’re_   _probably just overthinking things._ He thought as Mlle. Mendeleiev moved on from visible light to ultraviolet rays.

Maybe he really was overthinking it, after all Marinette seemed much more enthusiastic this morning when they’d spoken to Mme. Bustier, but he of all people knew what it was like to put up a front. Adrien held back a sigh, if he and Marinette were going to be working together then he needed to be sure she was comfortable with the decision, and that meant he would need to find a way to talk to her, but when? With the intense schedule his father gave him, even Adrien’s lunch breaks were being filled, and the only way he could get out of anything would be if suddenly came down with the plague. If he wanted to talk to Marinette there would have to be a suitable reason for his father to allow it, he just needed to find one. Suddenly, Adrien’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell announcing the end of class,

“Remember to finish your lab reports by Wednesday!” Mlle. Mendeleiev called to the students rushing out of the room. Adrien made a mental note to finish it when he got home, and started packing his things when he heard a groan come from the desk behind him,

“Great, just what I need. More homework.” Marinette sighed to Alya as she face-planted into her textbook,

“Still having trouble with sound waves?” Alya inquired and Marinette nodded,

“Who knew my favourite Transformer could cause me such pain.” She groaned again, and Adrien fought the urge to laugh at her comment. Alya chuckled at her friend’s theatrics,

“I pity your tutor.” She laughed and suddenly Adrien felt the click as a lightbulb went on in his head. Before Marinette could comment, he stood from his stool and turned to the girls, grabbing their attention instantly with a good natured grin,

“I couldn’t help but overhear, and sorry if I’m being nosey.” he said with an apologetic tone, before turning to the dark haired girl to his left,

“But if you’d like, I can help you with your report Marinette.”

 

Marinette couldn’t breathe, all she could do was stare. Stare, of course, at the blond in front of her, who had offered very kindly to help her with her homework. Something that should be very innocent, very simple, and very easy to accept if it weren’t for the fact she was head over heels for the person offering and had forgotten how to speak all of a sudden. She looked at Adrien in complete shock, not knowing how to answer. Should she say yes? If she did she might embarrass herself. She didn’t want Adrien to think she was stupid, especially since she usually wasn’t so bad with physics, but she also wanted to spend time with him. What if she ruined everything? What if she—

Marinette felt Alya prod her in the side, and looked toward her to see the girl mouth ‘OPPORTUNITY’ with a crazy look in her eye—the kind that said ‘if you don’t accept, I will for you.’ Of course it was then that she remembered the promise, and immediately Marinette wanted to kick herself for ever falling for one of Alya’s schemes, but regardless of how nervous she felt she only had one choice.  _I may as well make it myself_ , she thought before looking back to Adrien. He looked at her with expectation, patiently awaiting an answer, and although no sound was coming out she was desperately trying to give him one,

“Are y-you sure?” She finally managed, Adrien smiled,

“Of course! I’m always willing to help out a friend, besides I need to finish mine, too. We can work on it together.”

Marinette took a deep breath, and did her best to act normal,

“Thanks Adrien! That would be gate! Uh, great!” She smiled then, a little too widely, but Adrien didn’t seem to notice,

“Okay sounds good! So, I’ll meet you after school?”

“Y-yeah! We can go to my house.”

“Perfect! See you then.”

“Yeah.” Marinette basically sighed as Adrien waved and headed out of the classroom, “See you then.”

By that point, Alya had lost all communication with Marinette as she stared off in the distance at nothing in particular,

“Marinette?” She said earning no response, deciding to give waving a hand in her face a try,

“Hm? What?” She mumbled suddenly, and looked at Alya,

“Adrien is coming to your house tonight.” At that Marinette smiled dreamily,

“Yeah he is.”

“He’s going to be in your house.”

“Mhm.”

“Probably your room.”

“Yeah.” Alya looked at her friend incredulously, before slapping a palm to her own face and saying,

“Maybe you should make sure your room is  _ready?_ ” For a moment, Marinette just looked confused, then realization dawned on her and she sat up from the stool,

“ ** _The pictures!_** ” She nearly shouted, and ran from the lab faster than a speeding bullet. In the dust she left Alya, sighing with a grin on her face,

“What  _am_  I going to do with that girl?”

 

* * *

 

“ _I can’t say I’m too happy about this Adrien,”_ the voice said from the other end of the line, “ _I don’t like that you’re missing Mandarin **and** a shoot because of this._”

“Please, try to understand Father. My friend needs my help.” Adrien pleaded, holding his cell phone a little tighter,

“ _I’m sure there is someone more qualified to help.”_ He argued, sounding no closer to complying. Adrien took a deep breath,

“But I have the highest grades of my class in science, so I think I’m just the right person to help her.” There was silence then, but Adrien knew if he let it last then he would have no chance at getting out,

“Father it’s just one report, I could get tutoring points for it too, and I won’t stay out too late so that I can get up early for Fencing tomorrow. And—”

“ _Alright.”_  His father agreed, and Adrien felt his chest lighten,

“ _I’ll have_   _Nathalie reschedule the shoot for tomorrow afternoon, you will have to leave school early because of this.”_

 _“_ Yes, I understand.” Adrien replied, doing his best to hold back his glee,

“ _Mlle. Dupain-Cheng can accompany you in the car.”_

“It’s not that far from here, would it be alright if I walk with her?” A sigh came from the other end, but that was to be expected,

“ _Fine, but I’ll have a car arrive to pick you up at 8 o’clock, no later.”_

“Thank you, Father.” No response came, just the click of the receiver hanging up. Even that, however, wasn’t going to spoil Adrien’s mood.

This was the first time he would get to study with someone else, and while most people his age hated the idea he was ecstatic. The most company he ever had during his study time was Nathalie, and she never spoke unless he needed an answer to a question. He had no idea what it might be like to do the helping for once, or maybe even talk about anything else.  _Don’t forget, that isn’t all this is about,_ Adrienreminded himself. Right, he had a plan, he had to figure out why Marinette seemed so upset and try to find a way to fix it. She was the one who helped him feel better about the whole thing, so he would too,

“You sure are going to an awful lot of trouble.” A familiar voice said from his shoulder bag. At that moment, Plagg poked his head out from his hiding place to display a coy smile at his chosen,

“I thought you had a crush on Ladybug?” He said devilishly, and Adrien swore he could see horns appear where those cat ears should’ve been.

“I do.” Adrien hissed down at him,

“Ohhh really?” Plagg lilted on, “Then why do I smell love in the air?”

Adrien glared down at the Kwami with extreme distaste,

“It’s sense, Plagg.” He grumbled, “You  _sense_ love in the air.”

“Whatever.”

“And Marinette and I are just friends. I’m just worried that she doesn’t like the Ladybug idea.”

“So what?” Plagg sighed, hanging his arms over the mouth of the bag,

“Who cares if she doesn’t like it? Everyone else does.”

“I care.” Adrien retorted, looking up to the top steps of the school. It was then that he saw Marinette walking out the front entrance with Alya. They shared a couple of words— Alya looking his way and giggling in between—before they waved goodbye and parted ways. Quickly, Adrien jostled his bag strap and Plagg to fell back into the shadows with a muffled yelp,

“Please stay out of sight.” He whispered, and raised a hand to greet Marinette as she reached the bottom of the stairs,

“Hi!” He said brightly, Marinette’s response was a short noise. She cleared her throat,

“Hello! So… are you ready?” She asked with what he felt was an extreme amount of effort. This discouraged him a bit, was she really that upset about it that she felt uncomfortable around him? Adrien gave himself a mental shake of the head and pressed on,

“For sure.” He said stepping aside. If he wanted to know what was up, then there was only one way for him to find out,

“Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I’m so glad I got my spark back, and not even a whole half a year later! This update isn’t super long, but right now I’m just figuring out how I want these dorks to befriend each other. Until next time, please enjoy reading!


	8. Good Friends

As they walked silence settled over the two, and it stayed silent –and slightly awkward– nearly the entire way to the bakery where Marinette lived. Adrien had been there once before when the two of them practiced for the school gaming competition, but even so it wasn’t until he was searching for a distraction from the silence that Adrien found himself actually _noticing_ the homely neighbourhood. He looked to the flurry of life surrounding him, it had a different feel than his street –mostly because there wasn’t an oversized mansion looming over all of the cozy apartments– but it was a nice feeling, one that gave him a sense of familiarity, like home. Assorted shops and cafés along the walk were filling up with students as the school day came to an end, but as they neared the bakery he found that there were fewer teenagers as adults ran about their errands. Quite a few passerby’s waved at Marinette and she waved back kindly and usually calling them by name. It made Adrien smile,

 

“You know a lot of people, don’t you?”  


“Huh?” Marinette said looking a little flabbergasted, and Adrien realized what he said may have come out wrong,  


“Sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you.” He amended,  


“It’s just that you seem like a very approachable person, I think people find you easy to talk to.”  


“Oh, r-really?” she asked, and Adrien nodded in confirmation. Marinette looked away for a moment, appearing thoughtful at his statement before letting out a short not-so-amused laugh,  


“I’m not sure all people see me that way though. Chloé doesn’t.”  


“Chloé doesn’t really see anyone that way.” Adrien assured. It was obvious to him that out of everyone he knew Marinette butted heads with her the most,  


“My guess is you two don’t get along because she feels threatened by you.”  


“Pfft.” Marinette laughed, “Shouldn’t I be the one feeling that way?” She joked before reeling back immediately,  


“I-I’m sorry… I shouldn’t say that, you two are friends.”  


“Yeah,” Adrien said looking toward a group of children running around in the park, “I’ve known Chloé as long as I can remember, and she was my only friend for a long time.”  


He remembered their playdates as kids, back when they used to run around and be crazy. It was hard for him to see her as the same person now. Heturned to Marinette with a knowing look,  


“Chloé isn’t perfect, and I’m not going to pretend she is. But I think meeting someone like you is really going to help her.” After saying that, he leaned in a little closer to her, like he was about to tell her some secret. Marinette looked a little surprised –maybe intrigued– at his sudden movement, but listened intently all the same,  


“It’s not every day you meet someone who can oppose her wrath.”  


Marinette just stared at him for a moment, and in that second Adrien was worried he’d said something strange, when all of a sudden she snorted. Next thing he knew she was full on laughing at his comment, and her laugh was so contagious that he couldn’t help but follow suit. The feeling was familiar to him somehow,   
  
  
“I guess you’re right about that.” Marinette said with a sigh, wiping one of her eyes with a finger. And just like that, the silence was gone.

                                                                                           

* * *

 

“So the amount of oscillation particles experience from sound… is determined by the amount of energy carried by the sound wave?” Marinette questioned as she pointed to the diagram set before her on the page. Adrien looked up from his paper at the question, before smiling brightly and nodding in agreement,  


 “Exactly! And the energy of the sound wave is described by—”  


 “The amplitude?"  


 “Yeah, that’s right!” Adrien congratulated, and in return Marinette started beaming,  


 “I knew it was simpler than I thought.” She said with a sigh of relief, “I was starting to worry there that staring at my tablet all day was sapping my intelligence.”  


 “Well, it looks like you’re safe for now.” Adrien joked earning a small giggle from the girl next to him. He smiled her way before taking a moment to stretch and yawn.  


 The two of them had been working on the report for almost two hours and they were finally almost finished, but the constant brainpower necessary for physics was starting to wear Adrien down. On top of that, he’d kept trying to find a way to bring up the play to no avail, and it was already almost time for him to leave. Immediately picking up on his tired appearance, Marinette pushed her rolling chair back from the desk to stretch herself,  


“I’d say we’ve earned a break.” She said, standing from the chair and making her way to the trap door in the floor. She opened it, and turned back to Adrien for a brief moment,

“I’ll, um, be back with some snacks.”  


“Sounds great, thank you.” Adrien said with an extremely grateful tone, and as she descended the stairs he didn’t see the blush creep onto her face.  


The moment she was out of sight, Adrien sighed and laid against the back of the chair. It didn’t take long for a certain pest to come bother him,  


“Can we go home now?” Plagg whined as Adrien rubbed the bridge of his nose,  


“No Plagg, I still haven’t asked her yet.” The Kwami groaned,  


“Ugh, why bother? She seems totally fine now, maybe she doesn’t have a problem with the stupid play.” As much as Adrien didn’t appreciate his tone, he had to admit that Plagg might be right. Maybe he was truly just imagining the reaction he saw the day before and Marinette was completely alright.  


Still, even if that was the case Adrien didn’t want to leave, not until he had to anyway. The evening had ended up being really enjoyable despite the work, and while he kind of always knew it, Marinette was a very fun person to be around. He never really spent that much time with her at school, and he kind of figured that she might not have liked him since the gum incident, but it now it seemed to him that she had just been a little nervous. _She probably gets nervous when she doesn’t know people very well,_ he considered. After all, whenever they spent more than a couple seconds together she seemed to start feeling a little more comfortable. He really liked it when they got along,  


“We work really well together,” He said to no Kwami in particular, “I’m really glad I was casted with her.”  


In response to Adrien’s thoughts, Plagg snickered,  


“You say that now.” He said knowingly, floating above Adrien’s head and swishing his tail. His tone causing the boy to sit up straight,  


“What do you mean by that?” Plagg shrugged, nonchalant,  


“Nothing really,” His tone suggested it was a lot more than nothing,  


“Just that you’re totally gonna fall for her.”  


“ _What_?!” Adrien burst out, bolting upright in his seat before clapping a hand over his mouth and hushing his voice, “What do you mean by that!”  


“Oh come on, this happens all the time when people work closely together. They spend all their time with each other and one thing leads to another!” He sighed, almost like he was disappointed,  
  
  
“Not to mention you two will have to act like you’re in love, so it’s pretty much guaranteed.”  


“I don’t know if you remember this,” Adrien spoke with an ice cold voice,  


“But I already like someone.”  


“Yeah exactly, it’s the same reason you like Ladybug.” Plagg said matter-of-factly,  
 

“You fight together, she’s the only girl you see other than ‘the monster’—“  
 

“Chloé.”  
 

“Uh huh, it’s the same basic principle.” Adrien narrowed his eyes at the feline before him,  
 

“I love Ladybug, Plagg. I don’t appreciate you diminishing my feelings.”  
 

“Look kid, if you really don’t believe me, that’s fine, but there’s something you can’t avoid either way, no matter how much you love Ladybug.”  
 

“And what’s that?”  
 

“It probably hasn’t even crossed your mind.” Plagg drawled on, fueled by the radiating frustration from his chosen,  
 

“What is it?” Adrien spoke with increasing irritation, and he could tell the stray was loving it. The Kwami looked at him coyly, before zipping down to Adrien’s ear, and speaking in a voice no louder than a whisper,  
 

“You’re going to have to kiss her.”  
 

“Adrien?” Marinette’s voice called and Adrien nearly fell out of his seat, startling the girl who had poked her head into the room from the trap door. He did his best to quickly regain his composure, trying desperately to hide his blushing face,  
 

“Y-yes?” He squeaked, cursing Plagg a million times over in his mind,  
 

“I was just… wondering if you would prefer chocolate chip, or double chocolate cookies.”  
 

“Uh, either is fine.” He answered, willing his heart to beat slower. Any faster, and he thought it might hop out of his chest.  
 

Marinette stalled for a second before saying a simple ‘okay’, and heading back downstairs, leaving Adrien to hold his head in his hands. _I’m going to kill Plagg._ He thought to himself, and after taking a moment to calm down he looked around for the creature in hopes of setting him straight. Plagg, however, was nowhere to be found. _Coward_. He added, and not a second later, Marinette returned with a plate full of such sweet smelling delicacies that Adrien forgot what he was angry about. She set the plate down on the desk revealing a lovely selection of double chocolate _and_ chocolate chip cookies, which had Adrien guessing she took his request for either quite seriously,  
 

“These look amazing!” Adrien said, barely able to contain himself. Marinette smiled,  
 

“Help yourself.” She encouraged, and he obliged, taking hold of the most delicious looking chocolate chip cookie in the pile and taking a bite. He was instantly smitten,  
 

“Wow.” Was all he said as he stuffed nearly the entire cookie in his mouth,  
 

“These _are_ amazing.” Adrien established with a pleasant sigh, this time turning his eye to a double-chocolate cookie. Marinette fiddled with her fingers while he did, and as he took a bite of an equally delectable treat, she spoke a little nervously,  
 

“Really?” She asked, a little uncertain, and Adrien felt the need to nod aggressively for confirmation,  
 

“Yeah, really! Did your parents make these?” at his question Marinette’s cheeks reddened a bit and she looked down at her hands in her lap,  
 

“N-no, I made them.” She stuttered, “My parents taught me all the recipes, but this is the first time I tried something on my own.”  
 

Adrien looked at the cookie in his hand, then at the plate, before a subconscious ‘Oh!’ played through his head. It was her own take on a recipe— no wonder she looked nervous! He must have been the first person she shared them with. Adrien smiled, bowing his head down a bit to catch her eye. Once she’d noticed him watching her, Marinette tilted her chin up slightly to meet his gaze,  
 

“They’re wonderful Marinette.” He assured with a warm smile. The girl looked shocked for a moment before laughing awkwardly and looking away from him,  
 

“Thanks!” She blurted out, and while she still looked nervous, Adrien could tell that she knew he meant what he said. He leaned back in his chair,  
 

“I think you should share them with the whole class.” He said honestly, and Marinette shook her head,  
 

“No, not the whole class yet. I think I’ll stick to good friends for now.” She giggled, and although she didn’t realize it her words sparked a warmth in the pit of Adrien’s stomach. He stared at her for a moment, –while she stared to the floor— and felt the warmth spread over his whole body. He decided the feeling was a sudden burst of happiness. _Does that mean she thinks of_ me _as a good friend?_ Adrien wondered to himself before taking a long look at the cookie in his hand. While he knew that Nino considered him close, he hadn’t really entertained the idea of anyone else sharing the sentiment. Yet here he was, having an experience with someone new, and it didn’t feel like he had to try. Maybe he and Marinette were closer than he thought.  
 

Suddenly, Marinette turned her attention back to Adrien and he quickly snapped out of his reverie, smiling at the compliment she gave him. Whether she thought of it as one he really didn’t consider,  
 

“I’m glad you feel close enough to share them with me.” He said innocently, not expecting the reaction his comment would receive,  
 

“Of course I do!” She said almost intensely, taking Adrien off guard. Immediately, she began stuttering incoherently,  
 

“That is—uh, we’re going to be working together a lot so it’s a good thing we’re friends, and I would rather perform with someone I lo- **like** rather than someone I don’t or don’t know, you know?” as she trailed off in a fit of giggles, Adrien remembered the whole reason he had wanted to talk to Marinette in the first place, and finally he saw an opportunity to bring it up. He wondered for a moment if he should say anything at all, hoping he wouldn’t offend her if he was wrong. For all he knew there wasn’t anything upsetting her, but that didn’t matter. He needed to be certain.  
 

  
 

“Yeah that’s true,” Adrien nodded, and Marinette held back a sigh of relief, thankful that he glazed over her awkward response,  
 

“I’m glad we’ll be working together on the play. I’m really excited for it.”  
 

“Yeah me too, Alya and Nino are going to do a great job putting it together!” She agreed enthusiastically,

“And everyone is even more excited because of your Ladybug and Chat Noir idea," she smiled. Adrien shied a bit, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle before looking a little sad and turning his eyes to the floor.

“You really think so?”

Marinette’s smile fell when she heard the worry in his voice, the boy in front of her slumping a bit in his seat as he went on.

“I was worried that maybe not everyone liked it.”

What was he talking about? Of course everyone liked it! The whole room had nearly combusted when the plan settled in, even Chloé liked it. Yet here the responsible party was, slouching and upset, it made Marinette wonder if they were at the same meeting yesterday. 

“What? Why would you think that?” She asked, concern seeping into her voice. Adrien shrugged a little,  
 

“I had a lot of fun coming up with the idea, but I really want everyone to like the play, not just me.”  
 

“Adrien, _everyone_ loves your idea.” She said kindly with a gentle smile,  
 

“Even Chloe does, and she’s not easy to win over.” They shared a short laugh over the comment, before Adrien looked towards Marinette thoughtfully, a sort of intensity coming down over them. The eye contact made her a little jittery, but he didn’t give her long to stew,  
 

“What do you think about it?” He asked suddenly with a knowing look in his eye, and for a moment Marinette didn’t really know what to say, she could only stare back at Adrien with a blank expression. She couldn’t tell him that she was worried about playing herself—herself being Ladybug— but she really didn’t want to lie to him either. Biting at her lip, Marinette looked to the floor, worry taking over her features,  
 

“Honestly, I was a little worried about it… at first.” She said looking him in the eye. Hearing this, Adrien’s whole body sank as though he were deflating slowly,  
 

“But it had nothing to do with your idea.” Marinette corrected quickly,  
  
  
“It was more like I was worried about myself really…” She trailed off, searching for a realistic reason to give, leaving Adrien to tilt his head in anticipation. Marinette looked away from him, playing with a loose strand of hair to keep from chewing at her lip,  
  
  
“The truth is…” Marinette hoped for an escape, a way to avoid the truth without lying. She was nervous about playing Ladybug because… because she was…  
  
  
An idea popped into her head,  
  
  
“I didn’t think I’d be a good Ladybug.” She blurted out.  
 

 _That’s sort of the truth, I guess._ She thought to herself as Adrien’s mood appeared to jump from sadness to disbelief, a jump he vocalized immediately,  
 

“ _What?_ ” At his surprised reaction, Marinette felt a self-conscious grin make way onto her face,  
 

“Yeah, I know.” She laughed gracelessly, waving a hand at the problem  


“I mean it’s silly to think just _anyone_ can be Ladybug, but I thought for a moment that out of everyone in class I would probably be the worst at it.” _Because you would be Chat, and I would be a wreck._ She added mentally,  
 

“Then I had a long talk with… my parents. And I realized I could make it work. But I never once thought it was a bad plan, and I know that no one else does either!” Marinette concluded her point with a happy smile, but when she opened her eyes she was taken aback to find Adrien… frustrated?  


He was looking to the ground with his hand pressed to his forehead, staring at the floorboards with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief, he sighed,  
 

“I’m sorry Marinette, I really should have mentioned it.”  
 

Marinette felt her heart sink a bit. If he felt guilty for not telling her in advance, then that meant– _Adrien thinks so too._ She thought sadly, looking to her fingers and feeling surprised at the sudden lump in her throat. That was until Adrien chuckled in incredulity and raised his head, meeting her eyes with absolute genuine sincerity,  
 

“The reason I realized we could make my plan work is because I think you’ll be an _amazing_ Ladybug.”  
 

  
 

For a solid minute, Marinette didn’t make a sound, and Adrien worried that maybe he had offended her. _It would be justified, too,_ he thought to himself, _since I never told her, and let her doubt herself._ Despite its determination, Adrien ignored the sudden urge to curl in on himself and hide from Marinette’s wide-eyed gaze. It wouldn’t be fair of him to retreat, besides, he didn’t really know what she was feeling now and knew he shouldn’t make assumptions. It became more difficult for him, however, as the stare reached its second full minute and Marinette _still_ hadn’t said a word. Once another thirty seconds had passed, Adrien thought he should say something to see if maybe she was catatonic, but then she let out a breath. _Has she been holding her breath this whole time?_ He thought with concern, when she started stuttering out a sentence,  
 

“Y-you think… That I-I’d be a good Ladybug?” She asked, and he nodded,  
 

“Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have put that kind of pressure on you. I knew that for it to work we would both need to be comfortable in the roles, and I guess I just figured…” He paused, trying to find the right way to describe it,  
 

“I just figured it would work because, well, you remind me of her sometimes.”  
 

“I do??” Marinette sounded shocked and a little dumbfounded, and Adrien felt the need to laugh at her reaction,  
 

“Yeah! When it really counts you’re a great leader, and very selfless. I mean, it’s like the time you took lead of the class when Darkblade was closing in, or when you helped Juleka overcome her photo phobia. Or the time you and Chat Noir took on the Evillustrator. You were really brave, a-at least that’s what Alya told me…” He corrected. _Can’t let_ that _cat out of the bag,  
_  

“You really care about people, and whenever there’s trouble you always want to help. That’s what makes Ladybug a great superhero, and it’s why I decided to go through with it and call Alya.”  
 

Adrien smiled, hoping his explanation may have reassured the girl in front of him. At the very least she had closed her mouth, which had fallen open at his initial confession, but she still looked rather shocked at the news. He gave her some time to collect her thoughts, and eventually she blinked and returned to stable ground. At first her expression was unreadable, but as she spoke a happier look broke out onto her face,  
 

“Thank you Adrien,” She said with a warm smile, “That means a lot.”  
 

Seeing her so relieved, Adrien felt much lighter than before. He was grateful that he could help, and now that he had finally figured out how she was feeling he was a little relieved, too,  
 

“Anytime.” He assured, his goal for the night having finally been accomplished. Success was wonderful, and he’d had a lot of fun, not even Plagg could ruin this for him with his whining about going home.  
 

 _Oh crap!_ Adrien retrieved his phone from his pocket and looked at the time, the screen mocking him as it flashed 20:06 brightly in his direction,  
 

“Damn…” He muttered under his breath, before standing suddenly and startling Marinette,  
 

“Is everything okay?” She asked, getting to her feet as well. Adrien nodded,  
 

“Yes, sorry. I forgot what time it was, I need to head home.” He said trying to cover up his disappointment as he packed away his text book and report,  
 

“Oh, alright. I guess it is getting late.” Marinette said quietly as Adrien threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure why but he felt sad to leave, he really had been having a good time and he rarely spoke with Marinette at school. He barely had any friends to begin with, and if history was any indicator then she would probably get all awkward around him again by the next day,  
 

“Thank you for having me.” He said, and Marinette let out a sort of nervy laugh,  
 

“Thank you for helping me with the report.” And with that she walked over to the trap door and opened it, “I’ll show you out.”  
 

Adrien grinned, and followed her downstairs to the front door. They were silent as he retrieved his coat and boots, and once he had everything he needed he stood up straight and looked to Marinette thankfully. Now he _really_ didn’t want to leave, who knew when they’d get a chance to hang out again,  
 

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow then…” Marinette said and he nodded, reaching for the doorknob before stopping suddenly at the dawn of an idea. He turned back around quickly, unexpectedly overlapping words with her,  
 

“Did you want to–”  
 

“Maybe we could–”  
 

They both snapped their mouths shut, before laughing a little and immediately insisting the other go first. Marinette shook her head,  
 

“No it’s okay, what were you going to say?” She asked and Adrien stuffed his hands in his pockets,  
 

“I was just going to say… Pretty soon we’ll have scripts to memorize, so maybe we could get together a few times a week to read lines together. You know, to get ready for the play. It makes sense since we’ll be in quite a few scenes together, right?” Marinette looked a little surprised, but answered right away,  
 

“Y-yeah sure! That could be fun– I mean helpful!” Adrien laughed then and smiled as he opened the door,  
 

“I’m sure it’ll be fun, too.” He assured, stepping outside as the blushing girl behind him followed. She stood in the door frame and waved him off as he made his way to the car, waving back before he opened the door and slid into his seat. He barely even noticed Nathalie sitting next to him,  
 

“You’re almost ten minutes late Adrien.” She stated, scrolling through the iPad in her hands. He knew she didn’t expect a response, and usually he wouldn’t say anything at all, but he was feeling cheerful,  


“Sorry Nathalie, lost track of time.” He smiled, “My friend and I were having fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeeeeey I’m back! AND LOOK! An update! I’ve been rewriting this chapter over and over again because I keep changing my mind, but I think I’m finally happy with it, so here we go! Gotta move that story forward :D 
> 
> Happy reading!


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